Aircooled VW South Africa

Hi guys,

My pride and joy starting to succumb to the Cape's dreaded salty air.
The bonnet lid and parts of the door rails have bubbled and pock marks are showing up.

Please give me your advice on how bets I can prevent the rust from getting any worse.

The pic is a Beetle, not a type 2 ...

A major cause of bubbling paint is poor preparation before painting. While the bubbles are usually caused by rust, it's the poor paint prep that creates the conditions for the rust to keep growing. And remember, rust never sleeps.

Tips to prevent rust:

1. Always garage your car (preferably far away from the sea!)
2. Don't park near the sea or drive in salt water
3. Wash your car regularly with a bucket and cloth, especially if it's been exposed to sea air
4. Check all drain holes in doors, box sections, etc, regularly and ensure they are clear
5. Replace all window and door seals and ensure you use an appropriate sealer when replacing them

I'm sure there are lots more ways to prevent rust. Let's hear what coastal forum members do about this curse.

Thanks fig,

Sad to read that the rust could have been prevented if the chaps that re-sprayed her (at Beetle Buddies) in 2007 did a better job.

Although i'm not living right by the coastline, i'm still unable to garage my ride so salty air is unavoidable.
I do clean her regularly and will look into replacing the seals.

Right now, i'm looking for a innovative solution to halt the existing bubbles from spreading.
I'd like to seal them ASAP and then find an innovative solution to secure the edges of my bonnet lid.

Any idea guys?

Rust can't be beaten lol. Seriously specially if you at the coast.

Rather just treat the affected areas with rust converter/preventer to keep it from spreading.
There was a "gadget" I heard of once, that sent electric currents through the body of the car, and that prevented rust. How successfull it is, NOOOO idea.

Only way to keep a car relatively rust free in the winter rainfall area is unfortunately to keep it inside a lockup garage. There is no other way. Overseas people "dry store" their old cars during winter. Even further away from the sea, like Paarl and Stellenbosch, cars will rust to pieces if left in the winter rain.

On the other hand, in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, and even the southern peninsula, some cars that were always garaged are still in rust free condition after nearly 40 years. Especially if the owner did not use it to his workplace (if there was no undercover parking at the work.) Close to the railway stations, there are still a few rust free old cars, (where the owners used the train to work and left their car parked inside the garage.)

Problem is that water enters under the rubbers, inside heater channels, between the seams, inside the doors, etc. It is too cold in winter for the rain water to evaporate. I try to wash my cars not too often. If i have to, i do that on a sunny day in the early morning, and then leave the car in the sun for the rest of the day to dry out.

If it rains, i even use a rain coat and walk the half kilo to the shop to buy bread/milk.

Using a car cover can be worse than leaving the car in the rain. (It keeps the dampness inside). One could however try to make a temporary frame and use 100% shadecloth, to keep car dry when it rains. But the shadecloth should not touch the car. There should be breathing space around. Remove the shadecloth when it does not rain, so that the sun can dry out the car.

For someone who have a new car, an old acvw, and only one garage: Leave the new car outside and the old car inside the garage.

One could remove the door cards and clean/ apply rust converter and then reseal. But you cannot easily get inside the heat exchangers, sills, rocker panels, or under the rubbers.

bugspray wrote:Rust can't be beaten lol. Seriously specially if you at the coast.

Rather just treat the affected areas with rust converter/preventer to keep it from spreading.
There was a "gadget" I heard of once, that sent electric currents through the body of the car, and that prevented rust. How successfull it is, NOOOO idea.

Seen it in a buggy many years back, not sure how effective it is.
But the theory behind the idea makes sence!
http://www.ruststop.net/

May I just put a spanner in the works.
The bubbles you see are most probably the result of the last spray job. when they used stripper.
The removal of paint with PAINT STRIPPER, is a NO - NO on old cars, why you ask, well the stripper goes into the small etch holes and sits there, dries up and waits. It will not wash off, as its in such a minute hole, the water with surface tension will not get it out. When you repaint it the the stripper starts using the moisture in the paint, to become active again, and attacks the paint, and stars rusting again.
NEVER strip a cars paint with stripper, always use a heat gun and scrapper. its the safest way to restore an old body.
IF you did use stripper, then clean the body part with lots of water, than rub it down with lots of viniger, then take it for a swim in the pool with you for an hour, and rinse with lots of tap water when done.
When fully dry, rub down with a good, pink, rust converter, and let it turn black. Wipe lightly with damp cloth and flat and ready for paint as normal.
You may want to see my thread on paint removal here http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopi ... 1&start=30
Hope it helps.....
Herman

My car is due... when I get my alternative ride, Bessie will go into shop for rust removal.

But for now after her (very strict WEEKLY) wash to get all the salt off, she is oiled in all her nooks and crannys. Roof Rails, along the fender gaskets, down the doorwells, the inside seams of the bonnet and bootlid,

Thats all I can do for her at the moment, she is my daily drive so she cant come off the road.

Retrobug wrote:

bugspray wrote:Rust can't be beaten lol. Seriously specially if you at the coast.

Rather just treat the affected areas with rust converter/preventer to keep it from spreading.
There was a "gadget" I heard of once, that sent electric currents through the body of the car, and that prevented rust. How successfull it is, NOOOO idea.

Seen it in a buggy many years back, not sure how effective it is.
But the theory behind the idea makes sence!
http://www.ruststop.net/

AFAIK this product conducts the current thru the paintwork itself, and draws quite a bit from the battery. i've seen something similar that connects direct to the metal of the body and that makes more sense to me... either way i think they're more for prevention, once a spot starts these units wont cure it...

Keeping your car in the garage is by far your best option, no matter where you live. I am pretty sure that condensation standing outside at night is far worse than driving in the rain due to the condensation working in all those hard to reach areas all night long.

Once the rust is there it’s just going to continue, keeping it dry will slow it down but only option will be to remove it. Tarps and car covers are also rubbish as it will simply sweat and vrot underneath them.

My w124 Mercedes lived 20 years on a beach front property on the West Coast and doesn’t have a spot of rust simply because the owner religiously parked it in the garage and kept in clean.

I have looked at one of the "rust stop devices" and they seem to have some theory behind them but they are sold by the same lot that sells the so called bolt on fuel saving devices which leads me to believe it's just another fake for gullible people to fall for.

sean wrote:...............
I have looked at one of the "rust stop devices" and they seem to have some theory behind them but they are sold by the same lot that sells the so called bolt on fuel saving devices which leads me to believe it's just another fake for gullible people to fall for.

This topic has been debated before on this forum.
These things are as use full as the promise of a 2nd hand car salesman.
It only works in boats as the salt water, and the movement through the water, as well as the constant friction of the impeller.
Can not work in a car, as the body is constantly in contact oxygen which is one of the main elements in rust.

Herman